At ether.fi, we continually strive to offer our users an optimized and secure DeFi experience that puts their capital to work 💪 Our upcoming initiative follows this commitment. Soon, through ether.fi, users will be able to effortlessly stake their native ETH directly on Polygon zkEVM by acquiring weETH (ether.fi’s wrapped eETH), a novel liquid staking token. This innovation on Polygon zkEVM is an exciting next step in our mission to help support decentralization by making non- custodial staking easy and accessible for everyone.
In summary, this will allow for native staking of ETH on Polygon zkEVM, while also natively restaking this same ETH to Eigen Layer. What specifically makes this unique is:
1. Zero Fee Staking: This is set to enhance the staking landscape by eliminating the common fees associated with liquidity bridging or swapping, which typically cost users around 5–10bps. Even the gas costs incurred from staking on L1 and then bridging can add up quickly. By staking your native ETH on Polygon zkEVM to mint weETH, you bypass these fees entirely. A dedicated zkEVM contract has been created to accept weETH from the native canonical bridge. As you deposit zkEVM ETH into this contract, you’re issued an equivalent amount of weETH, bridged from Mainnet, ensuring a cost-effective staking experience, beneficial for all stakers.
2. Instant, Frictionless Experience: Traditional methods often require users to wait for minutes or even hours while bridging, which can be a hassle. Our system is engineered for an instant and seamless experience, eliminating the waiting time. Furthermore, the contract will manage the supply of weETH on zkEVM, ensuring a smooth transition between moving ETH to L1 to stake, and transferring weETH back up to the zkEVM to maintain sufficient liquidity.
3. Minting weETH: The process of minting weETH will be integrated directly into the ether.fi dapp, making it as straightforward as minting eETH on the mainnet, further enhancing the user-friendly and efficient ethos of our platform.
As a reminder, all ETH staked with ether.fi will be restaked. As we are building a native staking solution on Polygon zkEVM, this means that all ETH staked here will receive the same benefits as ETH staked on Mainnet, while also receiving the benefit of optimised fees on Polygon zkEVM!
This initiative is a testament to our ongoing commitment to providing cutting-edge solutions that empower our community and drive the DeFi sector forward. With the capabilities of Polygon zkEVM, we’re excited about the possibilities this brings to our users and the broader DeFi ecosystem. By leveraging the zkEVM, we believe this sets the stage for a more scalable, efficient, and user-friendly staking ecosystem. This move will allow our community to engage in staking operations with reduced barriers, fostering a more inclusive and active ecosystem. Stay tuned for the unveiling of weETH
A S/O to our Polygon Labs Frens — Katya and Jack
Special thanks to you both for leading the charge through onboarding and getting this initiative kicked off. We truly appreciate frens like this in the ecosystem that make it such a kind and passionate place.
